The Celsus Library

One of
the fully-restored structures at
Ephesus is the Celsus Library.
Around 92 AD Roman Consul
Tiberius Julius Polemaeanus was
responsible for public buildings in
the city of Rome, and was from 105
to 107 Proconsul for the province of
Asia, the capital of which was
Ephesus. When the man Celsus died in
114 at the age of 70, his son,
Tiberius Julia Aquila built he
library for a monument to his
father. The construction was
finished in 117. The sarcophagus,
made of exquisite marble, was buried
under the apsidal wall. Garlands,
figures of Eros, Nike, and rosettes
decorate the sarcophagus. In 1904
the sarcophagus was opened and a
second lead casket was found inside.
The structure of the building
reflects the period of the emperor
Hadrian with its emphasis on the
front of the building. The façade is
two-storied. The lower floor had
pairs of Corinthian columns with
nine steps leading up to the
entrance level that had a 21 m
entrance porch. There were three
richly ornamented doors between the
columns, with the center door being
the widest and highest.

The statues in the niches between
the doors are copies of originals,
which were taken to Vienna during
the time of excavation. The statues
represented various virtues, as
inscribed on their pedestals. The
virtues of Celsus symbolized here
were Sophia (wisdom), Episteme
(science), Ennoia (intelligence),
and Arete (excellence). The columns
on the second floor were smaller
with triangular and semicircular
capitals.

Sophia (wisdom)

Episteme (science)

Ennoia (intelligence)

Arete (excellence)

The
interior of the library, measuring
10.92m by 16.72m, is lined with
decorative marble. The section of
the west wall over Celsus' remains
is aspidal. A statue of Celsus, or
of his son, was found during
excavation and is still on
exhibition in Istanbul at the
Archeology Museum and was thought to
have rested in this niche. On the
walls were niches for the scrolls of
the library. From the niches in the
upper wall it is understood that the
interior was not two-floored but
that there was a mezzanine balcony
instead. The space behind the walls
was left open to guard the scrolls
from moisture.

The niches could have held as many
as 12,000 scrolls. Because the
library was built after the
buildings on either side of it, it
was a bit squeezed in. Thus, the
desired monumental effect was
enhanced by certain tricks played
with the perspective. The podium on
which the columns rest, for example,
was built with a raised center and
lowered sides. The capitals and
rafters on the end columns were made
smaller to appear to be farther from
the center than they are, giving the
building the appearance of being
wider than it really is.

The
interior of the library was
completely burned when the Goths
invaded in 262 AD, leaving the
façade intact. The façade was
restored along with other buildings
in the 4th century and a small
fountain was placed next to the
steps. The façade itself came down
in the 10th century because of an
earthquake.

During excavation frieze blocks were
found on either side of the fountain
depicting scenes from the Parthian
wars. The thoery was put forward
that the frieze belonged to an altar
found on the south of the courtyard
of the library. With the steps
leading down from the library on one
side and the steps leading from the
street on the other, the total
appearance of the courtyard is that
of a small amphitheater.

The
wall and gate in the center of the
square made in a slipshod way of
plaster and debris were part of the
city wall when the population of
Ephesus was low in the 6th or 7th
century. The sarcophagus in one
corner of the square was found in
1968 during library excavation.
According to the inscription on the
cover it once belonged to Tiberius
Claudius Flavianus Dionysuis in the
2nd century.